Best "cheap" piece of gear you've ever bought

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Vox Pathfinder 15r. Best $100 I've spent on any piece of guitar gear.
Wonderful sounding amp, cleans to bluesy drive, takes pedals great for everything else, low to moderate volumes. Best around the house amp. Ultimate grab n go for jams, open mic nites.

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I built a parts guitar Strat to take to college from warmoth parts. Back then, solid koa body and Braz RW neck (both neck and fingerboard) were modest uncharges. I think I put the whole thing together for less than $400 with Duncan pickups. Played a million gigs in college with that guy. Years later I had Pete Skermetta completely rebuild the guitar from the ground up and I put in Holmes pickups. It now plays as good as any Suhr, Tyler or PRS I've ever owned. I still play that guitar as much as any of my others.

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This is easy! About 18 years ago I bought a Korg Pandora one of the original ones I have thousands of hours on it it still holds up. I used to work nights and I would play this thing at night with my headphones. I actually bought another one brand new just for a backup, I have never even opened up the Box cause mine is still holding up. I run it now through my computer Klipchs system and sounds wonderful!
 

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I was cruising classifieds one night at SSO and found this thing. Body neck and bridge for like $100 shipped. I grabbed it immediately. Did up a guard, some locking tuners and a Fishman Modern and it was my #1 recording guitar for like 3+ years.

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It’s also the guitar that I send out to broke friends that need an axe, with the stipulation that they kick a sick sticker on it when they send it back. It’s got a metric fuckton of stickers on it now.
 
I bought a Schecter Hellraiser C1 FR for $200. The guy didn't like it. The action was all jacked up and the volume pot needed to be replaced. Fixed both myself.
 
@rottingcorpse what's up dude? I saw a comment you had left on a YouTube video that you have a washburn southern cross prototype that has a quilt top? I was going to send you a message to ask more about it and possibly see a picture of it, but I can't for some reason. That's totally badass! ??????
 
Dan electro Cool Cat transparent boost. V1
Got it new. 35 bucks. Things amazing.
Think they got sued by Timmy pedals same circuit or something. They put out a V2. Wasnt the same.
 
I've gotten some good deals on amps over the years.

Peavey Ultra Plus $211
Rhino Beast $200
Krank Revolution $314
Rivera Knucklehead Reverb 55 $470
Peavey 5150 Block Letter $450

I still have the Ultra and the Rhino. Wish I'd kept the 5150.
 
Fender 150R pure nickel 10's made by D'Addario.

Last as long or longer than Ernie Ball Paradigms, have higher tension so I can run 10's instead of 11's on my 25.5" scale tuned to C#G#C#D#G#C#. MUCH more musical high end than nickel plated steel and $2 cheaper than Slinky's.

Other Nickel offerings like EB RnR Slinky's, DR Pure Blues don't cut it. Too mellow, not enough snap, maybe OK for "Blooze" but can't rock.

Best cheap gear purchase EVER.

I once did get 3 NOS f91 Mullard long plate 12AX7's from a guy for $100. That was a sweet deal!
 
I built a parts guitar Strat to take to college from warmoth parts. Back then, solid koa body and Braz RW neck (both neck and fingerboard) were modest uncharges. I think I put the whole thing together for less than $400 with Duncan pickups. Played a million gigs in college with that guy. Years later I had Pete Skermetta completely rebuild the guitar from the ground up and I put in Holmes pickups. It now plays as good as any Suhr, Tyler or PRS I've ever owned. I still play that guitar as much as any of my others.

Oic8g12.jpg
Can confirm. Best Strat I ever played was a Warmouth parts caster, hand oiled finish, with SD Antiquity Texas hots. NO OTHER STRAT has even begun to touch that thing!
 
Can confirm. Best Strat I ever played was a Warmouth parts caster, hand oiled finish, with SD Antiquity Texas hots. NO OTHER STRAT has even begun to touch that thing!
I heard the Fender Custom shop at one time got it's necks and bodies from Warmoth.
If, when, how long, etc... I don't know.
 
I was cruising classifieds one night at SSO and found this thing. Body neck and bridge for like $100 shipped. I grabbed it immediately. Did up a guard, some locking tuners and a Fishman Modern and it was my #1 recording guitar for like 3+ years.

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It’s also the guitar that I send out to broke friends that need an axe, with the stipulation that they kick a sick sticker on it when they send it back. It’s got a metric fuckton of stickers on it now.

Absolutely love that guitar man, killer!
 
Hands down my '74 Marshall 1960B cab loaded with original creamback celestions for $100 bucks off some punk rocker who beat it so badly it looked like it had been drug behind a semi truck lol
 
Oooh almost forgot: Dad got me an Orange Brent Hinds Terror for $299 on a MF STOD. Killer amp, better with 6n14n tubes. Killer deal!
 
@rottingcorpse what's up dude? I saw a comment you had left on a YouTube video that you have a washburn southern cross prototype that has a quilt top? I was going to send you a message to ask more about it and possibly see a picture of it, but I can't for some reason. That's totally badass! ??????
Its a cross prototype. Super weird one-off.
Has the custom shop cross logo on the back of the head stock but instead of saying "23 of 100" it says PROTO.
Got it from a guy with a huge collection of weird Washburns right after dime passed.
He had Steve Stevens protos, Nuno protos....crazy stuff.
Pm me for pics. I just had my bro pull it out and send me pics of it a while ago(have my gear parked all over DFW)
Don't know how to move pics from phone to my tablet. Too old.
 
That’s completely nuts. I remember the long period of time where “everybody” dogged the JCM800’s and you could get them for cheap but a Jubilee for a few hundred bucks? Wild.
My Friend Chad at the time was an apprentice at a Tattoo Studio & needed to buy ink. He sold me his Jubilee & His Explorer. So I bought his 1991 Explorer(He was & is an SG Guy) for $500.00 & the Jubilee for $390.00. HIS Exact words to me was that the Jubilee being 50 watts, did not sound as good as his 100watt JCM 900.
 
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I'll chime in. My most used gear these days is not cheap, but significantly cheaper than a lot of my higher end stuff. A used Landry G3 and a used LSL. Not cheap, but cheaper than a lot of my other stuff and most used right now.

For the actual cheap gear--I bought a Korean made LTD EC-1000 when I was 16 and I played countless shows with it and had it on 2 albums. It sounded fucking awesome and plays fantastic. I'll never get rid of that thing.
I had an EC-1000, absolutely fantastic guitar, could easily hang with guitars that cost twice as much (or more). I traded it off and still regret it lol
 
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